Applying For MS in CS

[indianguyiit]

Hi

I am from India (IIT) and will be applying to grad school this year.

I have a decent gpa of 9.5+ and am interested in Machine learning and natural language understanding. 

Hopefully, will have one publication in mid-tier conference.

I will be giving gre/toefl next month. Just wanted to ask what are my chances of getting top schools? What matters most -- research publications, academic honors, gre score?

Any comments are welcome. Thanks.

[lookwhathappened]

In my experience, your undergrad GPA, GRE scores, a strong SOP that communicates your narrative of what your academic interests have been, what your research interests are in and why you are applying to THAT SPECIFIC college and course, strong Letters of Recommendations, work experience ALL together contribute to your application being considered. 

Most schools have the average GRE and TOEFL scores and undergrad GPAs of current class listed on their websites. In most schools, the amount of funding you eventually end up getting will also depend on your GRE score. 

 

My advice to you would be: Your GPA looks good, your GRE is yet to be taken so ensure you get the best score that you can, do some good research on which of the 'top schools' on your list have professors who're focusing on your area of interest in research and reach out to them, narrow down your options based on which of these schools will be a good match for you course wise and research interest wise. Good luck!